Before He Was Feared
by BrunetteKlaineLover
Summary: Hermione Granger's time turner takes her all the way back to 1944, when Tom Riddle was a student at Hogwarts. Can she save herself and her loved ones from Tom? Or should the question be, can she save Tom from himself? Rated M just incase things get intense.


**Hey guys! This is an idea I have been entertaining for a while. I've recently been reading a few Tom Riddle stories and I wanted to write my own, with a little twist and personal flare.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

Chapter 1: A Boggart, a Time Turner, and Two Potters

Hermione Granger was making her way to Defense Against the Dark Arts class on windy, overcast Thursday morning. However, something was different about the way she got to this class. Quickly finding an alcove where she would not be seen, she pulled out a golden necklace with a small hour glass on it. She then turned it twice and felt a pull at her abdomen for a split second before she found herself in the same spot, only two hours ago. Hermione then saw Harry and Ron, her two best friends. She ran up to them so they could walk to class together. "Where the bloody hell did you come from?" Ron asked, looking as lost and confused as ever.

"Ronald, I just came from a meeting with Professor Flitwick about the end of the year extra credit assignment, not that it's any of your business," Hermione replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ron looked dumbfounded saying, "Blimey 'Mione, we haven't been at school an entire month and your already working on the end of term assignment?"

"Well some of us actually care about our grades instead of stuffing our faces every waking moment!"

Harry had a twinkle in his eye, clearly amused at the two bantering, "Guys, calm down. I'm sure Professor Lupin will want to start the lesson straight away so you might as well pay attention."

They finally reached the DADA classroom to find the room cleared of all desks and boards, with only a wardrobe sitting at the front of the class. Looking around, the trio found that they were not the only ones taken by surprise as everyone seemed out of place without a desk to sit at, as they were standing awkwardly all around the room.

"Alright class, settle down, settle down," said the voice of Professor Lupin as he entered the room from his office. "I know you are all taken aback by the lack of furniture in the room, but today's lesson requires a large open area." His only answer were blank stares all around and a few nods from students who were trying to look like they understood.

"Right then. Class, who can tell me what a boggart is?"

As always, Hermione's hand was the first to confidently shoot up into the air, followed by a few uncertain, half-raised hands. "Ah yes, Miss Granger."

"Thank you, sir. A boggart is a type of shape shifter. When someone stands before it, the boggart takes form of whatever that person's worst fear is. Because of that, no one knows what it truly looks like."

Remus had a proud smile on his face as he said, "That is absolutely correct. Ten points to Gryffindor!" This earned applause and victory cheers from the Gryffindors in the room. They were in the lead for the House Cup by 25 points, with Slytherin in second.

After the Gryffindors settled down, the Professor carried on with his lesson, "Today we shall be learning a simple spell to make the creatures a little less frightening," he said with a wink.

Hermione was extremely excited about this lessons she had read all about boggarts in advanced spell casting book Professor McGonagall had lent her last year. There was hardly anything she didn't know. She then began to worry, knowing that Harry's boggart would surely take the shape of the Dark Lord. Professor Lupin had to be aware of this as well, and perhaps he just wouldn't have Harry stand in front of the wardrobe. Snapping back into reality, Hermione turned her attention to the Professor who had just given them the incantation to the spell to use against the creature. Of course, she was not bothered by this, since she already knew the spell was "ridikkulus."

"Who would like to go first? Mr. Weasley, how nice of you to volunteer! Come my boy, I shall open the wardrobe on the count of three."

Ron looked around to find that everyone else had taken a step back, leaving him front and center. With a shaking hand, he raised his wand, bracing himself for what was about to come his way.

"1...2...3!" Lupin shouted and on three he opened the wardrobe and immediately stood back. There was a strong gust of wind as the boggart spun around to morph into Ron's worst nightmare- an acromantula, or giant spider. Ron gulped as he backed up slightly. He then got an idea and decided to try it out. When he shouted the incantation, the large slider started slipping and sliding all over the room, for there were now rollerblades on all eight of its legs.

Seven more people went on to face their fears until finally it was Hermione's turn. She stepped forward confidently, her wand at the ready. When Professor Lupin opened the wardrobe, a stern looking Professor McGonagall stepped out and immediately shouted, "Miss Granger! I am very disappointed in you! You have failed every subject at Hogwarts! You bring shame to our school and all of Gryffindor House! You can forget about being a prefect or head girl now!" Hermione was taken aback by her favorite teacher shouting at her and felt like she wanted to cry. However, she remembered that this wasn't real and there was no actual chance of this ever happening. She vigorously moved her wand and yelled, "Ridikkulus!" In a split second, she found that the boggart was still the transfiguration teacher, but she was now wearing the robes and hat of Kingsley Shacklebolt. The class laughed at the odd sight and Hermione wore a triumphant smile. She turned to walk away when Professor Lupin called her back.

"Miss Granger, it appears that you dropped your... necklace, " Lupin said with a curious expression. She thanked him and quickly took it back from, hoping no one else saw. When she returned to the back of the classroom with Harry and Ron, she decided to examine the necklace and sure enough, the tiny hour glass had a small crack in it. Hopefully the magical properties of the time turner were still intact.

Hermione raced out the door as soon as class was dismissed and his around a corner so she was out of sight. She then commenced to turn the time turner twice. It spun around and around until suddenly it got faster. She tried to stop it but quickly found herself traveling through time for what seemed like an eternity until finally everything stopped and she landed hard on the cobble stone ground of Platform 9 3/4. As soon as she got her bearings, she stood up and walked over to the Hogwarts Express. 'Have I gone all the way back to September first?' she thought to herself as she walked around, looking for familiar faces. At last, she had found Harry. She walked over to the raven haired boy and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, he greeted her with a smile, but she found that while this boy looked extraordinarily like her friend, it was not Harry.

"Hello, my name is Xavian Potter. And you are?"

Hermione was right. It in fact was September first. September 1, 1944.


End file.
